Astron Group, a Czech print service provider, has praised its Onset X3 HS from Fujifilm for helping it increase productivity and expand its business.

The company, which is based in Prague, was founded as a small studio in 1993 but has grown to the point where it now employs 300 people and produces a wide range of products including magazines, leaflets, banners, POS, and signage.

One area the company highly prides itself on is its high-quality sign making, and in 2020 it installed an Onset X3 HS from Fujifilm, with High Five and Dual Flex robotics, to produce ‘exceptional print work in the fastest possible time.’

Prior to the Coronavirus outbreak Astron was hitting annual turnovers of almost €20m and when the time came to increase production capacity  n its wide-format division the company actively looked for the most advanced print technology on the market.

CEO Tomáš Novák explained, ‘We closely follow all the news from the major print technology manufacturers, so when we became aware of the Onset X3 HS model from Fujifilm we were interested to find out how it could help us expand our business even further. We already had a well-established, positive relationship with Fujifilm stretching back three years as we own an Acuity Advance Select X2 and have invested heavily in their inks too, so we were intrigued by the new high speed Onset model.

‘Seeing the print quality was one thing, but the advanced robotics on the Onset X3 HS were remarkable – it was something completely unique and new to us. We immediately recognised that utilising robotics for the movement of substrates could overhaul our production methods for the better.’

The CEO concluded, ‘Since its installation in early 2020, we’ve seen the Onset X3 HS with High Five and Dual Flex robotics increase our productivity and production capacity substantially, while also reducing labour costs at the same time. We’ve moved from a classic, labour-intensive sign-making process, to industrial high capacity printing. We see this investment as a strategic move that is essential for us as a business because we want to be the print industry’s leader for the Central European market – a goal we are certainly on course to achieve now.’